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Recent advances in cell biology have provided evidence that the plasma membrane is not a homogeneous lipid bilayer but rather contains within it sphingolipid- and cholesterol-rich membrane microdomains, termed lipid rafts, which serve as platforms for both receptor signaling and trafficking. In B lymphocytes lipid rafts appear to play a key role in the initiation of B-cell antigen receptor (BCR) signaling. Current methods to isolate lipid rafts rely on the relative detergent insolubility of lipid rafts as compared to the nonraft, glycerophospholipid bilayer. Here a method to isolate and characterize lipid rafts from B lymphocytes is described. Particular emphasis is given to the potential artifacts inherent in current procedures that rely on detergents to isolate lipid rafts and alternative technologies that may circumvent these. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]